Page 53 of Hunted By Wolves and Shadow
“She said you try to take everything onto your shoulders. It's not all yours to bear, Wolf. Not the curse, not the ones you've lost, and not even my grandma's death. No…let me finish. I know the guilt you carry for killing her, but Hawk told me the whole prophecy and…I don’t hate you, Wolf. I saw them all there, in the enclave. All of those people lost so much; their memories, their lives from before, family they might have outside these woods. And you've lost even more every time one of your own is corrupted or killed. You know you had to kill Fenrir, right? You have to know that. It's not your fault. And no matter what I thought at first, Ruby is the only one to blame for all of this, not you.”
Her words settled into my stunned silence.
I didn't know what to say.
It felt impossible. The river of pain and regret between us had felt too vast to bridge. But here she was, this magical creature, beautiful and smart and kind beyond imagining, throwing me a rope. I didn’t deserve her grace, but that didn’t stop my heart from hammering its desires against my ribs.
For a long time, we stood there, in each other's bubble, just breathing. Finally, Emi broke the stillness and lifted one hand to my shoulder. Holding back a delicious shudder at her touch, I reached for her waist. Her hands on me were a gift. Her forgiveness felt like a ray of pure sunshine, unfiltered by the ever-present haze, like a bolt of sheer joy.
If she were just willing to work with me long enough to try to break the curse before finally casting me off, that would beenough. But to see her looking at me in this heartbeat without prejudice or hate, it was more than I dreamed.
“Does that mean you'renotgoing to use that dagger behind your back?” I asked, feeling a tug at the corner of my lips.
She pulled her other hand from behind her and looked at the blade in her grasp like she'd forgotten it was there. “I thought I wanted to…”
“But now?”
Slowly, she sheathed the dagger, and I hardly dared to breathe, waiting for what she would say next. She lifted the hand to my cheek. “But now, I want to do this.”
The first brush of her lips against mine was gentle, questioning. It was no less life-changing for it. This wasn’t the wild crash of our first kiss, where I wasn’t sure if she wanted me or was just too frustrated to resist the chemistry that always crackled between us. This kiss was real.
Her mouth was soft and pliant, divine against mine. She filled my senses with sweetness and hunger, and all the things that had felt wrong inside me rearranged themselves into rightness. She invited me in, and I took the opening with a claiming certainty.
I’d never experienced anything like it. The cold of the Mist faded, chased away by my burning need for her.
My hands tightened on Emi’s waist, drawing her body against mine at the same time as she slipped her hand up my neck. Her fingers tangled into the curls at my nape, pulling my head closer and changing the angle of our kiss so that our lips slotted together like they were made as two halves of one mold. It was Emi who deepened the kiss, her tongue gliding along the seam of my lips, demanding entry, tangling us together, taking what she wanted from me and searing away my guilt.
I knew I wanted Emi. I would die by her hand if that was what she needed from me, even while I hoped, in my wildestimagination, that she might want me here, alive. But this…This was never in the realm of magic or miracles.
Heartbeats stretched on, and each time I thought nothing could be better, it somehow grew into more. The kiss turned hotter, more desperate.
It had been building for a long time now, but I could no longer deny the way my body reacted to her. The way I felt when she was near. I was dying for her. And somehow, impossibly, Emi was right there with me.
“Inside,” I gasped when we finally pulled apart.
Emi's lips were kiss-swollen and shining wet, all from me. My heart galloped to know I was the reason she looked dishevelled and needy right now, her hair tumbling wildly over the hood at her back. I’d never seen a more beautiful sight.
She didn't even glance at the Mist behind us, just tugged my hand toward the door with a look of sheer determination on her face. I would have laughed if I were capable of anything other than following wherever she led.
She wasted no time closing the door behind me and promptly picking up where we left off outside. My arms were suddenly full of Emi, warm and wanting. Heat pounded through my veins, blood surging down to throb where our bodies met, and I quickly flipped our positions so I was the one pressing her up against the door.
“Wolf,” she gasped. My name from her tongue was music and fire and all the stars I'd only imagined in a clear night sky.
All I could manage was a deep groan.
Her fingers tugged the shirt from my waistband, then her hands were on my flesh, tracing my obliques and drawing my gasp as she brushed low over my abs. With her body trapped against mine, I hurried to help her free me from my vest and shirt, kissing down her neck while she let out addictive little whimpers. Once I was shirtless, her lips found my shoulders,mouthing along the smattering of freckles there, pausing only when she reached the mess of scars at the base of my neck.
Not wanting her to stop, I tilted her chin and captured her mouth again. We were pressed together as close as we could be, and my hands traveled up silky thighs, pushing her skirts up with them. I tore my lips from her, just long enough to ask, “Is this okay?”
“I think…” She kissed me again. Her legs wrapped around my waist, pressing me right up against the very core of her. We fit together perfectly, the friction turning from pleasure to sweet agony. ”I think you…” Her lips dropped to my neck, kissing a trail from my ear to the scar where her tongue flicked over the sensitive skin, sending a shiver all the way to my toes. Her panting breaths were hot on my skin as my head fell back to give her every part of me. My groan was deep and wretched as she slid a hand under my waistband, and then lower, to feel what she was doing to me. “I think you'll have to share the bed this time,” she gasped.
I couldn't help it. I burst into laughter with Emi clamped around me, now eyeing me with bedroom eyes. “I think you're right.”
She wasn't small, but Emi was weightless in my arms as I carried her to the bed, setting her down gently on the edge. Like everything she did, Emi was fiercely determined and whole-heartedlyin, grabbing what she wanted with both hands. And what she wanted, impossibly, was me.
She pulled me down so my body covered hers. I didn't want to crush her, but she seemed to welcome my weight, so I gave her enough of it to feel all of her against all of me. She whimpered at the friction, and lifted her head for another kiss. Her clever fingers had the laces of my trousers undone. This woman would be the death of me.
As lost as I was to her, as much as I wanted to give myself over to her, I had to hold out, just a little longer. Drawing on the peace I’d felt as I walked beside her that allowed me to stay in control, I wrangled my senses and pulled back enough to watch her face.
